Ceramic press



H. D. LILLIBRIDGE.

CERAMIC PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.21, 1921.

1 ,430,019, I Patente'lSept. 26, 1922.

3 SHEETS SHEET I.

Slum/W60? H. D. LILLIBRIDGE.

CERAMIC PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.21. 1921.

Patentefi Sept. 26, 1922.

3 SHEETS-$HEET 2.

H. D. LILLIBRIDGE.

CERAMIC PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2|.'192|.

'1 ,430,01 9, I Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

warren STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY n. LILLIBRIDGE, or ZANESVILLE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICANENCAUSTIC TILING 00., LTn.,-or NEW YORK, Y., A CORPORATION on NEW YORK.

CERAMIC PRESS.

Application filed March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,038.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY D. LILLIBRIDGE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Zanesville, county of Muskingum, State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and use,- ful Ceramic Press, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention is a press especially designed for compressing claymaterials in the production of articles such as saggers, the latterbeing commonly used in thetile industry for containing tiles during theoperation of firing the same within kilns. Although the press is usefulfor the production of saggers, it is to be distinctly understood thatthe invention may be utilized in theproduction of a press forcompressing materials in the manufacture of tiles and other. ceramicarticles, and, further, that said invention may be adapted for use inany art or relation wherein it is, or may be, desirable to control thetravel of a plunger so as to regulate the pressure exerted thereby or toeject the pressed articles from the forming die, or to control both thepressure and the ejection of the formed product.

A. salient feature of the invention. is a friction drive for theplunger, having asso- 'ciated therewith means for controlling at willthe travel of said plunger, whereby the pressure exerted by the plungerupon the material may be regulated with accuracy. The employment of afriction drive eliminates gears ordinarily employed, .whereby tendencyto strip the gears is wholly overcome, and economy of repairs anduninterrupted service of the press are attained.

further feature of the invention consists of an expelling plunger anddie plate operable within the die shell or box. in combination with aplurality of lift rods mova ble with said expelling plunger and dieplate, said. lift rods cooperating with the power operated head of thepressure plunger in such manner that upon the withdrawal of the plungerfrom the die shell said lift rods are actuated for lifting the expellingplunger and the die plate within the die shell in a manner toautomatically eject the hand labor hitherto required in presses for" theproduction of saggers and other clay products. I I

Another feature of the invention pertains to means whereby the die shellmay be charged with material easily and rapidly, and the compressedmaterial removed from the die without interference by the com pressingplunger and the overhead mechanism of the press. I

A further feature is to locate the manual control for the friction-drive within convenient reach of the attendant workman.

A further feature is to so construct the machine that variousadjustments may he made with facility in order to adapt the press forthe manufacture of different size products.

A further feature is to facilitate adjust ment and minimize repairs,thus attaining economy in the time and labor required for V press inservice convention will appear from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a frontelevation of a power operated manually controlled press embodying thisinvention. l I

Figure 2 is an elevation looking at the ri ht of Figure 1.

l igures 3 and 4- are views in horizontal cross section taken in theplanes indicated by the dotted lines 33 and 4-4 respectively of Figure1.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section illustrating the means forcoupling the non-traveling rotary screw spindle to the driven element ofthe friction drive.

Figure 6 is a detail plan view of the expelling plunger associated. withthe lift rods.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional elevation of said expelling plunger.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective View of the feed nut for the screwspindle. v i

I the base and the die shell.

Figure 9 is a detail section of means for controlling the action of thefriction drive whereby the pressure exerted by the compression plungermay be regulated as required.

The press frame forthe various operat ing parts may be of any desiredconstruction, but as shown herein it embodies a base A, column housingsB, a column head C, column rods D positioned within the column housings,and upstanding brackets E extending from the columnhousings above thecolumn head C, the severalparts being solidly united in a desired mannerto result in a structure of a substantial nature. The base A is providedwith depending legs a; the

column housings are erected upon said'base and solidly attached thereto,each column housing being of. hollow or channel cross section (seeFigures 3 and 1) to serve as housings for the column rods, said columnrods extend through the base and the column head so as to be fixedlysecured in place, and the brackets E are bolted to the column housingsso as to afforda substantialsup port for bearings e e of the main driveshaft F.

said main shaft is positioned horizontally across the upper part of thepress, theend portions of said shaft protruding from the respectivebearings e 6 so that a driving element, such as pulley f, is mounteddirectly on the shaft,

The base A carries or supports the die box or shell G, shown in dottedlines Figure 1, the same being of such form and capacity as to mold thearticle to be produced, such as a sagger. The base is slotted or npertured for the accommodation of the expelling plunger H, see Figures 1and T, the latter being unitary with a lower crosshead h, Figures 1, 6and '7.

The expelling plunger is shown as being of h-ollow format-ionandprovided with a crosshead 71-. with apertures h in the top thereof,and with grooves 7L2 interiorly thereof,

The top of the base A is provided with depending webs a see dotted linesin Fig ures 1 and 2, between which plunger H with its crosshead h areadapted for vertical movement with respect to the die shell and saidbase. The opposite side portions of the plunger andcrosshead are insetto produce the parallel grooves 71 and in these grooves are fittedkeyplates 2' 21 provided on the base and the depending ribs cf thereof,said key plates '2' fitting in the grooves 72, so as toguide theexpelling plunger in its vertical travel relatively to i The expellingplunger is of such shape and dimensions as to co-operate with the dieshell in molding a sagger; but in the lowermost position of the plungeritrests close to or at the bottom for the die box, the drop of saidplunger being arrested by suitable stop de- Vices.

The lower plunger carries a die plate I, see dotted lines in Figure 1,said die plate being'demountable at will therefrom, as required.

Siidplunger H is operated by lift rods K which are shown as passingthrough openings in the crosshead h of said plunger, said rods extendingupwardly from the base A through which the rods are free to slide.The'u'p'per ends of the lift rods are externally threaded at 7c and saidthreaded ends pass loosely through openings provided in the movablecrosshead L, the lift rods beingprovided at their upper ends with adjusting and jam nuts k for suspending the rods from said crosshead in amanner to cause the rods K and the plunger H to partake of theverticaltravel of crosshead L under certain conditions, whereas underother conditions the crosshead L is free to move up and down withouteffecting the position of the lift rods.

The movable crosshead L is positioned between column housings B andcolumn rods D, and to the ends of said crosshead L are bolted guidemembers L which are fitted slidably upon the column rods D, see F igures1 and'3, whereby the crosshead is limited to rectilinear movementintermediate the column guides. Said crosshead carries a suitablecompression plunger L see dotted lines in Figure 1, and the crosshead iscentrally perforated at Z (Figure 1) to loosely receive the lowerportion of a screw spindle M. To the upper side of the crosshead isfixedly attached a nut housing m in which is mounted a tapped nut m intowhich nut is screwed the threaded part of spindle M, the relation of thenutto the housing and to the spindle being such. as to provide for acertain lost motion in the action of the parts during the compression ofthe clay material within the die shell.

The screw M is power driven by the action of a reversible frictiondrive. presently referred to, but this power screw is mounted in thecolumn head C so as to be restrained from traveling motion whileperfectly free to rotate. The upper part of the spindle is smooth andplain, (being nonthreadr-d). and it passes through a bushing )lplOVltltfil in the column head C. Said spindle is provided above itsscrew part with a thrust collar or adapted for contact with a rollerthrust bearing )t which is liietwecu the thrustfcollar oz and the underside of the column head C. Above the thrust collar a u d roller thrustbearing said spindle is pro vided with a key. slot n The plain, part ofthe screw spindle extends above the columnliead, and upon thisprotruding upper partis fitted the friction member and its hub 0, thelatter being provided with key slots 0 (see Figure so positioned thatthey are in register with the key slot n of the spindle, thus makingprovision for the reception of a key 0 (F igure 5) for locking thefriction member 0 in fixed position upon the screw spindle and makingprovision for taking up wear in the have associated with said frictiondrive manually operable means conveniently located for the workman forcontrolling the travel of the compression plunger L whereby'the pressuremay be regulated under the absolute control of the attendant workmannotwithstanding the plunger is initially power operated, to the end thatthe clay material may be subjected within the. die to the requisitepressure suited to the condition or character of such material and withthe same facility with respect to pressure regulation as obtains in thecompression of clay material by the action of hand operated presses. Themembers P P are composed of disks having inclined faces covered withappropriate wear resisting friction material such as tarred fibre, andthe members P P are rigidly mounted on the drive shaft F so as to faceeach other, each of said disks being adapted for frictional contact withthe beveled friction face of the cast iron memher 0. The facing disks PP are of the same diameter, said disks being smaller than the disk 0 onthe screw spindle. Said facing disks are relatively spaced on the shaftF for a distance which, in the neutral position, allows both disks to beseparated a slight distance from the face of the driven disk 0, but theshaft F is mounted in its bearings e e to be capable of a limitedsliding movement therein as well as to be free to rotate in saidbearings.

The means for imparting sliding IIILOVE? ment to drive shaft F, shown inFigures 1, :2 and 9 comprises a sleeve or bushing Q, collars 1*, an arm8, a link rod 3, a rock shaft and a lever T, see Figures 1, 2 and 9. The sleeve or bushing Q is fitted loosely on an end portion of shaft F,and between the collars r r, the latter being made fast with said shaft,said sleeve fittingin the bearing 6 so as to slide and turn therein. Thesleeve is shown as having a stud or screw u working in an inclined orcam slot a of the bearing 6' (see Figures land 9), and thus a rotativemovement of the bushing is converted by the coaction of the'stud and camgroove into a sliding motion, which sliding motion of the bushing actson the collar 1" or r to impart a limited sliding motion to the shaft F,whereby one friction member as P is shifted into contact with frictionmember 0 when the other friction member P is shifted out of contact withO, and vice versa, dependent upon the direction in which bushing Q isrotated, or the shaft may be shifted to a neutral position wherein bothfibre coated member P P are free from contact with cast iron frictiondisk 0. Non-rotating bushing Q is provided at oneend with arm a, towhich is pivoted the link rod 8, the lower end of the latter beingpivoted to a short arm t provided on the rock shaft t, which rockshaftis journaled in suitable bearings t off one column housing B and bracketE. Lever T is attached 'to the rock shaft in a position convenient forthe operator to grasp and operate it, said lever having the usual latch'0 adapted to have locking engagement with a fixed quadrant 4).

The bushing Q and the parts co-operating therewith constitute a quickacting means for imparting sliding movement to the drive shaft F, forthepurpose of enabling the operator to bring the power mechanism intoaction with facility and to stop or reverse the direction of rotation ofthe screw easily and quickly as the conditions of service may require ordemand. f I

In my press the friction drive is associated with a rotary pressurescrew acting to impart movement to the compression plunger solely by therotative motion of said pressure screw, in con'tradistinction to otherpresses wherein the plunger is given a vertical! movement by an up anddown motion of the pressure screw, it being noted that in my press thescrew spindle M. is so mounted that it is incapable of vertical movementrelatively to the press frame or to the compression plunger.

In operation, with the plungers H L and the crosshead L in the raisedpositions shown in Figure 1,, the operator deposits the material uponthe die plate I of the lower plunger, there being ample space betweenthe die plate and the compression plunger for the introduction of thematerial and in the required quantity without interference from any ofthe working parts of the press mechanism, The control lever T is nowoperated to shift F in one direction in order to bring one frictionmember P or P into contact with friction disk O, thus applying the powerto the screw spindle for driving .the latter, the rotation of saidspindle acting on the nut m, to feed the crosshead L- downwardly,thereby lowering the pressing mechanismincluding the compressionplunger, the lift rods, the' expelling plunger, and the die plate. Theadjusting and nuts on the lift rods are so positionedthat the lift rodsand the lower plunger are permitted to drop down until said lowerplunger reaches a point at which no further downward mpveinent of saidlower plunger can take place, but as the lift rods are fitted loosely inthe upper crossplunger, the power driven mechanism is under theimmediate and' direct control of the attendant who is able by shiftingthe shaft F to move the friction member thereon into more or lessintimate contact withv the friction disk 0, whereby the power applied bythe driving mechanism is controllable for regulating the pressure asdictatedby the judgment and skill of the attendant workman.

The material having been formed and compressed within the die shell, theoperator reverses the motion by shifting lever T so as to slide shaft Fin a direction for the other friction member to contact with frictiondisk O, thus driving the screw spindle in a direction to act on the nutfor lifting the crosshead L. Upon the ascent of the cross head, thecompression plunger is withdrawn from the die shell, but at this periodthe crosshead slides on the lift rods K, so that the rods and theexpelling plunger are at rest until such a time elapses that thecrosshead contacts with the nuts k of the lift rods, whereupon thecontinued upward movement of the erosshead operates to elevate the rodsK and plunger H, the latter operating within the die shell for liftingthe formed and compressed productto the top of said die shell, fromwhence the product can be removed as desired.

It will be noted that the press mechanism iscontrolled by a single handlever acting to impart sliding motion to the power shaft through aquick. acting thrust bushing mounted in one of the side brackets. Thisdrive shaft is shift-able at the will of the operator so as to assume a7 neutral position wherein friction members P P are free from thefriction disk 0 and both plungers L and H. areat rest, whereas the driveshaft is rotating freely in its bearings. By moving the lever Tin onedirection, one friction member acts to impart motion through themechanism described for the elevation successively of the compressionplunger and the ejecting plunger, whereas a reverse motion of the leverso controls the mechanism that the expelling plunger and the compressionplunger are moved downward successively and at the requisite intervalsto compress andform the material into the desired product within the dieshell.

Having thusfull'y described'the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Pressingmechanism including a compression plunger, afeed nut and arotative screw whereof said'screw is free from endwise or travelingmovement and acts by'its rotative motion toimpa'rt' sliding motion tothe plunger, anda'frictiondrive co-operating with said screw'forin'ipart-ing rotat'ive motion only thereto.

2. Pressing mechanism including a compression plunger, a feed nut and arotative screw whereof said screw restrained from endwise motion andacts by itsrotative 1110- tion to impart sliding motion to said plunger,apower shaft, a friction drive intermediate'said power shaft and therota-ti've screw, and means controllable at will for applying the powerof said shaft to said rotative screw for regulating the pressureappliedby the compression plunger for the material under treatment.

31' Pressing mechanism embodying a slid able crosshead, a compressionplunger carried thereby, a feed nut and rotative' screw whereof thescrew is restrained from end-' wise movement and co-op'erates with saidfeed nut for the rotative motion ofthe screw to impart sliding motion'tothe crossh'ead and the compression plunger, a drive shaft mountedfor'sh'ifting motion in its'bearings, a. friction drive intermediatesaid drive shaft and the rotative screw, and means controllable at'willfor imparting sliding motion to the drive shaft for reversing therotative screw and for regulating'the application of power'by said screwto the compression plunger.

Pressing mechanismembodying a crosshead, a compression plungercarriedthereby, a co-operating feed nut and rotative screw for impartingslidable motion to the crossshead, a power shaft mounted for slidingmotion in its bearings, a friction drive intermediate the power shaftand the screw for imparting rotative motion to the latter, and operatingmeans controllable at will and including a quick acting element forimparting sliding motion to the power shaft.

5; Pressing'mechanism embodying a cross head, a compression plungercarried thereby, a co-operating feed nut and rotative screw forimparting slidable motion to the crosshead, a power shaft mounted forsliding motion" in its bearings, a friction drive intermediate the powershaft and the screw for imparting. rotative motion to the latter, a camcontrolled bushing co-operating with said power shaft forimpartingslidingmm tion thereto, anda manually operable lever linked tosaid bushing for rotating the latter.

6. Pressing mechanism including a crosshead. carrying a compressionplunger, a die, an expelling plunger movable within said die, and meansactuated by the movement of the crossshead for imparting motion to saidexpelling plunger relatively to said die.

7. Pressing mechanism including a crosshead carrying a compressionplunger, a die, an expelling plunger movable within said die, and meansoperatively connecting said expelling plunger with said crosshead foractuating the expelling plunger with a definite lost motion relativelyto the movement of the compression plunger.

8. Pressing mechanism including a die, an expelling plunger movabletherein, a crosshead carrying a compression plunger, and connectingmeans intermediate the expelling plunger and said crossshead forimparting motion to said expelling plunger by the travel of thecrosshead, said connecting means operating upon the withdrawal of thecompression plunger from the die to impart motion to the expellingplunger within said die.

9. Pressing mechanism including a die, an expelling plunger slidabletherein, a crosshead carrying a compression plunger, and lift rodsattached to the expelling plunger and slidably fitted to the crossheadwhereby said crosshead is adapted for movement relatively to the liftrods for withdrawing the compression plunger from the die andsubsequently thereto said crosshead acts to lift said rods and theexpelling plunger relatively to said die.

10. Pressing mechanism including a crosshead carrying a compressionplunger, a die, an expelling plunger, lift rods attached to theexpelling plunger and fitted loosely to the crosshead, and means on thelift rods in the path of the crosshead whereby the elevation of saidcrossshead acts to lift the rods and the expelling plunger.

11. Pressing mechanism including a bed plate provided with guides, adie, an expelling plunger having guide ways for slidably receiving saidguides, a crosshead carrying a compression plunger, and means operatedby the travel of said crossshead for imparting motion to said expellingplunger.

12. Pressing mechanism including a die, a crosshead, a compressionplunger carried directly by said crossshead, an expelling plungermovable Within the die, and means actuated by the travel of thecrossshead for imparting sliding motion to the expelling plungerrelatively to the die and subsequently to the withdrawal of the compression plunger from said die.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name this 18th day of March, 1921.

HARRY D. LILLIBRIDGE.

